Chapter 7 From Page to Screen 261The Importance of Time
Time is oft en an initial consideration of any storyteller. Two angles must be
contemplated: the length of the motion picture and the story length. When a
writer creates a screenplay, there may be outside forces that dictate the length
of the intended motion picture. Perhaps running times have been set by a
teacher, a festival board, or an employer. Is it a short motion picture of one,
fi ve, ten, or twenty minutes? Other standard lengths are those for the half-
hour or one-hour television show. Finally, there are the durations of feature
fi lms which generally range from ninety minutes to two-and-a-half hours.
Naturally, the length of the script can simply be the choice of its creator: the
story that the writer wanted to tell was suited to a fi lm of that length, so that
is why it ended up at that page count.
Th e length of the motion picture aff ects many of the choices by the
screenwriter. From our consideration of the running time of the motion
picture, the other angle in relation to time is story duration. With short fi lms,
it is quite typical to center the narrative on a single event and a small number
of clearly delineated characters. Many of the most successful short fi lms
center on one scene in which a confl ict between two or more characters fi nds
dramatic expression. Th e 2002 four-minute short I’ll Wait for the Next One
centers its entire narrative on the metro ride of a lonely woman. Although she
does not speak a line of dialogue, the depiction of her character is remarkably
expressive, and the movie’s poignancy helped to earn it an Academy Award
nomination.
It can be quite challenging to depict an extended period of time in a short
fi lm in a satisfying way. However, the use of fl ashbacks, reference points,
and other fi lm language devices can be appropriate to express the story. In
the 2003 animated short fi lm Das Rad, the fi lmmakers convey a narrative
that covers eons of time from the perspective of stones. In Tom Tykwer’s
short starring Natalie Portman from Paris, I Love You (2006), the fi lmmaker
shows the extended romantic story arc of a young couple in Paris using
rapid editing, musically-arranged voice-over, and only one dramatic scene
between the two main characters. From the same fi lm, the Place des Fêtes
segment by Oliver Schmitz depicts the tragic story of an African immigrant
in Paris from the lyrical perspective of the main character. Interestingly,
the core events of each of these segments are quite short, but through the
illustration of personal perspectives, longer periods of time are successfully
shown to the viewer.
In short fi lms, the story oft en hinges around a single strong dramatic
moment, a solid core. In many fi ction shorts, the drama of the motion picture
is built around the setup to that moment and the resolution of the confl ict.
In shows and feature fi lms that unfold over an extended series of scenes,
this development is more complex. A term commonly used when discussing
screenplay structure is the act, from the theatrical term used to designate
major breaks in a play. A standard broad conception used when discussing
movies is the three-act structure, consisting of a setup, confrontation, andVIEWFINDER
“I have a rather unusual
approach to screenwriting.
You see, I write as a
director, not as a writer.
So I write with images.
And to me, the most
important thing about the
script is to know the space
it takes place in... So
I have to scout locations
even before I start
writing.”–Wong Kar-Wei–
Chinese director and writer
whose motion pictures include
My Blueberry Nights (2007), In
the Mood for Love (2000), and
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